The Divine Dance

Pray Like This

“Joy is peace dancing and peace is joy at rest.” — F.B. Meyer When Christ was born, angels came proclaiming the long-awaited arrival of the Messiah, saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14, ESV). Of course there are many seasons in life where accessing peace does not feel easy. For some, the holidays are their favorite time of the year. For others the holidays can be a time of complex family dynamics triggering old hurts and wounds. For some, they can even be a time of great loneliness. For those who don’t know God, the holidays are often void of meaning. However for those who know Jesus and have made Him the Lord of their lives, this season along with every other season, can be as the angels declared, a time of peace. This peace mentioned in Luke 2:14 is a promise of Scripture that we can take hold of here and now. Peace is promised to those God is pleased with. Are We Pleasing to Him? The Bible gives instruction on how to know if we are pleasing to God. Psalms 147:11 teaches, “…but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.” Hebrews 11:6 instructs, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” which infers that with faith we please Him! From these verses we know when we fear God, hope in his steadfast love, have faith, believe God exists and rewards us when we seek him, we can have assurance that God is pleased with us. According to the angels’ announcement, peace is proclaimed for those whom God is pleased with. Let’s look at these examples further by answering some questions that can help us identify where we are at. Do You Believe That God Exists (Hebrews 11:6)? When we choose to believe in God, our whole life changes. The entire foundation of our worldview is altered when we believe that there is a higher power who is in charge, is everywhere, knows everything, and cares deeply about our lives personally. Psalm 14 1: says, “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.” Not believing in God makes us fools. Believing in God is wise and as Romans 1:19-20 explains, natural. It says, For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. We are surrounded by evidence of God’s existence. God is real. He is here with us now. He sees you and loves you. God made you. God wants a relationship with you, and if you already have one with Him, let me encourage you… God loves connection with you and only wants your relationship with Him to get better, deeper, and stronger. Do You Have Faith (Hebrews 11:6)? Hebrews 11:1-3 defines faith. It says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” According to these verses, faith is confidence in everything that is promised to us in the Bible, and everything we believe about Jesus. We can rest assured of our hope in His saving power that will see us through this life and give us eternal life through faith. How can we understand that everything was made when God spoke? Through faith. Do You Fear God (Psalm 147:11)? The Bible gives us key information on how to check if we are fearing the Lord. Proverbs 8:13a says, “The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil.” Every human encounters evil. The Word warns against it over and again. It is sin, destruction, and everything not good and not God. However, when we come across something evil, how do we respond? The above verse teaches that if we fear God, we hate evil. We cannot tolerate, accommodate, or excuse evil. We must hate it. When we do make space for evil, we fear other things, more than God. This doesn’t please Him. Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” When we fear the Lord, and are building the foundation for knowledge in our lives, we will welcome wisdom and instruction. Having a receptive heart that is humble to God’s teaching is key in this aspect of living in peace. Do You Hope in His Steadfast Love (Psalm 147:11)? Lamentations 3:22-24 says, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.’The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’” Where is your hope in life? Is it in some earthly pursuit? A raise? A relationship? The completion of a difficult challenge? These can all be excellent and exciting parts of life and the fulfillment of promises from God to us. God promises good things for us and wants good things for us in life (Jeremiah 29:11). It is right to have hope for good things to happen! I know no matter what is going on and because suffering is a real part of life, our foundational hope as Christians is in God’s steadfast love. This makes sense because nothing can compare with the love of God! Why do we put our hope in His steadfast love? Psalm 130:7 teaches, “O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.” We hope in His steadfast love because His love is steadfast! Do You Believe He Rewards Those Who Seek Him (Hebrews 11:6)? Do you seek God? If so, you can have confidence that He will reward you! Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” What greater reward could we have than finding God? However, our God whose love is steadfast is abundantly generous. Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of the Bible explains further that, While [the Bible is] emphasizing the future rewards, it is also well to remember that there are many good results that come to the faithful believer in this life, things that can be called “rewards.” Jesus said that he had come that his own might have life and have it to the full ( John 10:10 ). He also said that if his own would continue to seek first his Father’s kingdom and his righteousness, all the temporal things they needed would be given to them as well ( Matt 6:33 ). This concept is so important for us to grasp. God is a rewarder! I have witnessed God’s faithful reward and provisions countless times in my life, and know this verse to be true. We can trust God in this. Peace Among Those with Whom He is Pleased. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14). Is God pleased with us? If He is, we know the angels’ worship of God and proclamation of peace is for us. From the above study we can start walking in this peace right now and all throughout the rest of this holiday season. As wise people, discerning God’s creation’s proclamation of this truth all around us, we can trust that God exists. As we have confidence and certainty as Christians in alignment with the Bible, we know what we hope for will happen as we walk in faith in Christ. As we keep soft hearts to listen to wisdom and hate evil, we fear God. As we hope in God’s steadfast love, we can rest assured, because His love is steadfast! As we seek Him we can have faith and believe He rewards those who seek Him. All these things are pleasing to Him. All these things put us right in place to receive the proclamation of peace among us, the community God is pleased with! Prayer Father, I believe you exist. I have faith in You, Your Son Jesus, and Your Holy Spirit. I believe you are with me now. Please come fill me afresh and baptize me with Your Holy Spirit. Father, help me have a soft heart that listens to Your instructions and wisdom. Purify me so I hate evil, as you hate evil. I want to fear You. You made the universe and you made me. You love me. Your love is steadfast, so I hope in You and Your steadfast love! I’m seeking you now, Father. Help me seek you with my whole heart. I believe you will reward me. I see the reward of You and Father, you are everything to me, but I know You will also provide for all my needs. Forgive me every place I have not had faith in, hope in, and fear of You. I open my heart now to Your Spirit’s gracious conviction to any area I am not in alignment with what Your Holy Word says is pleasing to You, because I want to please you, because I love you. You are my friend. You are my help. You are my Lord. Help me follow you in submission and surrender. Now Lord, because I trust in Your Word, I choose to believe that the promise of peace described by the angels announcing Christ’s arrival is a promise for me. By faith, I receive that peace now. I bless you my Lord Jesus, and I receive your blessing. I look forward to this holiday season being full of this peace. Guide me Holy Spirit. Amen. From Bryan: In the midst of experiencing intense, extended, and varied suffering in my life, I have seen God come through for me time and again. For more of my story and my deep process of God’s profound healing at work in my life and family after experiencing financial loss, addiction, divorce, and murder, check out my book, More Than Gold ( https://m46ministries.com/books/more-than-gold/ ). If you are experiencing anything described in this blog, the testimony of Jesus’ real and miraculous power in my family’s life will give you hope and peace. Reposted with permission from M46 Ministries

A good friend of mine, George La Du, founded the Identity Project and has been preaching on the Father’s love for 40+ years. George’s ministry deeply instills the truth that you are who the Father says you are (His masterpiece!). Knowing who you are and who you belong to opens your heart to the Father’s love. The more you encounter Him, the more your love tank fills, the more the truth will move from your head (as information) to your heart ( as transformative revelation). This enables you to receive and experience God as He intended from the beginning. However, if God doesn’t fill your love tank, you will fill it with other things, which are not of God’s design. George has this picture of The Andy Griffith Show hung on his wall. In the photograph, the character Opie looks up at his father with a smile, communicating he feels content, safe, loved, and delighted as they walk together. This is a picture of how we are supposed to feel in our walk with our Heavenly Father! God wants to meet with us daily, moment by moment, and He has 1000 ways to fill your love tank. We become increasingly aware of His love as we practice cultivating a relationship throughout our day. God reveals Himself in salvation, provision, love, wisdom, creation, people, life’s little moments, dreams, visions, His voice, His presence, etc. The following exercises will help you allow God to fill your love tank. How do you identify? Pause for a moment and ask God, “Who do You say that I am?” Now, take a few minutes to write down what you hear. Pause for a moment and ask the Father, “What is one area You would like to do life with me? What would it look like?” Continue to write down what you hear. Pause and ask, “Holy Spirit, please reveal anything in my life that I love or focus on or rest my faith in over You?” What is the Holy Spirit showing you? Continue to write down what you hear. As you write, you begin to build history and steward the words of God over your life that will provide encouragement and wisdom down the road. Throughout this practice, let the Holy Spirit lead you. The more we honor the promptings and leading of the Holy Spirit, the more open we become to experiencing Him. Be aware that God speaks with you in your own unique personal language as you have things that matter to you, different life experiences and unique needs. He knows the desires of your heart and everything about you. Walking and talking with God in the natural realm brings His presence and His Kingdom to earth as He works in and through you. Your Father has good plans for your life and good works that He has prepared in advance for your life. You are a son or daughter. You are a friend of God. As George says, “What God did when He made you is really really good!” See yourself as He sees you. See others as He sees them. Hearing God’s Voice From experience, the journey to discovering who we are in Christ starts when we simply go to Him and seek Him with all our hearts. That includes the broken parts of our hearts! Keep in mind that God may speak to you as Father, Son or Holy Spirit. There are times in your life that different parts of the Godhead will speak to you as you journey with the Lord. The Holy Spirit is my constant companion, my encourager, my comforter, my friend. It is the Holy Spirit who I experience in my day to day when I write and flow in creativity or while I work. I encounter Jesus the most often when I do inner healing. Typically when I journal, I hear the voice of the Father. Experiencing God’s Love We can experience the Trinity in the simple things of life. I recently had a weekend where I prepared a great dinner and good music on Saturday and Sunday night with the intent to set aside time to enjoy God. I was filled with gratitude for the blessings of the food and time with Him. My love language is food so it was easy for me to get into the zone. It was a time of great peace and joy, talking with and experiencing the Lord. His presence was powerful and so life-giving. Immanuel, God with us. Jesus invites us to bring our burdens to Him so we can fully experience Him and life more abundantly. In times of suffering, my experience of the Trinity has been different. I have suffered with Jesus (entering into His suffering and He in mine) and without Jesus on my own. Can you think of a time when you suffered by yourself and another time when you invited Jesus into your pain? Compare the experiences. From personal experience, I highly recommend inviting Jesus into your pain. When we learn to go to Jesus in difficult times rather than false or unhealthy comforts and distractions, we are blessed with His comfort. It makes all the difference when we choose to trust in our good and perfect Heavenly Father, knowing He is sovereign and loves us more than we could ever imagine and is producing gold within us in the process. Immanuel, God with us! Experiencing God’s love in times of joy and suffering ultimately solidifies our identity in Christ and makes the journey with God as beautiful as George’s photograph of Opie and Andy. As I close out this blog, I want to challenge you to reassess how you view the Father and how you view yourself. Ask the Lord to reveal a new way you can receive from Him today. Be quiet, still, and take what He shows you to heart. Let Him fill your love tank and be made new in the process. The Identity Project is helping Kingdom leaders unleash their God-given identity. The Identity Project course and events are a discipleship program in the Gospel of the Kingdom, that the King of kings taught. To learn more go to: https://kingdomliving.mylearnworlds.com/course/identity-project?site_template_id=619d37414f64f52cd2743533 Reposted with permission from M46 Ministries

To read Experiencing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – Part 1, click here . God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. In other words, He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and present everywhere, all the time. This means we can encounter God anywhere, anytime. God created us to experience Him throughout each day. How? By increasing our awareness of God in all things. I find that moving toward gratitude throughout my day opens my eyes to see God’s goodness. Recently my daughter, Bryn, and I were asked to submit answers to a few questions for a TV show. We intentionally answered and submitted them separately. One of the questions was: Where and how do you experience God? Bryn’s answer: I experience God in everything I do. Whether that’s talking to friends or in prayer focusing on Him. I see God in believers and unbelievers. I see God in families and in children. I see God in nature and in beautiful things. At this point of my walk with the Lord it would be hard for me to not see Him. He literally made everything and everyone. Even people who feel they are far from God can teach us about the heart of God in different ways. Seeing different cultures and expressions of diversity shows me God. You can learn about God through anyone, anytime. Not just mature believers. Bryan’s answer: Jesus is all in all. Literally everywhere. The Word of God is alive and active. His Word is a place of encounter. Jesus is the Word made flesh. His Kingdom is within, our indwelling God. His Kingdom is at hand. My office is a place of encountering the Lord. A place of worship and prayer (with a prayer room) and regular time with the Lord creates a place of His presence. Observing His creation. Living in constant awareness of God, seeing Him in people, hearing His voice, recent multi-week Holy Spirit adventure, experiencing Him in the good times and in suffering, the highs and lows of life. In Him we live, move, and have our being. Where there is life, there is God. Where there is love, there is God. In the suffering, there is God. In all of creation, there is God! To be still and know that I am Lord, stillness especially in the early morning, friendship with the Lord of the Universe, thankfulness, listening to the birds, watching the sky, sunrise & sunsets, being by the water and in all of nature, living in awareness of Him and all His creation, billboards, journaling, listening, talking with Him, encounters, seeing Him in others regardless of who they are. Simply talking with God as my friend. I was pleasantly surprised at how similar our answers were and the broadness of our awareness of His presence. Of course, we both go through times where we don’t sense or feel Him in our daily walk, but the truth is God is always present. We can enter into an experience with God anytime. He is always speaking, but we must be attuned to His voice. God is never distant, but rather our ability to see and hear Him is a process within us that is unfolding. Sometimes we call these wilderness seasons, which are a part of God’s plan to mature us. Pause for a moment and ask: God, where are you right now? Consider journaling what God is saying or revealing to you. In quiet, ask and listen: God, what are you saying? Once during a prayer call, I remember sensing Jesus in front of me kissing my forehead. Then, totally unprompted, one of the women on the call said, “Jesus is here, and He is giving each of us a kiss on our forehead.” These types of confirmations come from time to time and are so confirming as we become more sensitive to the Spirit. Enjoying God Living in awareness of God and experiencing Him has made all the difference in my life. This is the key to relationship (friendship, communication, experiences, rest, peace, etc.) and closes the door to religion (striving, earning, knowledge, empty doctrine, etc.). This is why we were created! Our highest calling is to enjoy God and live in relationship as His family for now and all of eternity. To know Him and make Him known. We need not wait to die to experience God. We are in the world but not of the world. We are part of God’s Kingdom now and not the kingdom of this world. As I experience God, even in the smallest of ways, I am transformed. Every encounter leaves us changed. God’s glory, His manifested presence which encompasses His radiant beauty, His light, His splendor, His nature, His power, His creation, His love, His joy, His grace, His mercy, His goodness, His freedom, His wisdom, His wholeness, His perfection, etc., are being unveiled within us as we are being conformed into the image of Jesus. His glory and the manifestation of His glory are infinite as God is infinite. Pause and take a moment to reflect on all of the different ways you display Jesus and His glory to the world. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal this to you. Consider writing this down and continue expanding on it in the coming days as more is revealed to you by the power of Jesus and sensitivity to the Spirit. Reposted with permission from M46 Ministries

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” – 2 Corinthians 13:14 Scripture reveals to us over and over, through both testaments, the nature of God in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There are dozens of ways we as the church try to explain what is known as “The Trinity” in layman’s terms, but it is the Holy Spirit which reveals these mysteries to us as we spend more time with God learning His will and His ways. And how do we get to God the Father? Through Jesus. God sent His Son to the earth, the invisible God made visible, to die for our sins once and for all. After three days in the tomb, Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven to be with the Father. Sin was conquered! Death conquered! But He did not leave us alone. “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.” John 16:13-14 The Holy Spirit, the person of God, is inside of us, changing us from the inside out. Through the Holy Spirit, we experience the three in one with 24/7 access to our Father. Heaven is now within because God dwells within! He chose us to live in union with Him. We are one with the Creator of the universe. Through Jesus’ Eyes As Jesus is, so are we on the earth. We are Jesus on the earth. We are His eyes. We are His hands. We are His voice. We are His feet. I was reading a book on encountering God and it mentioned that Jesus is always looking through our eyes! Knowing this and being aware of His promptings, compassion and love towards people and all of creation massively shifts our earthly paradigm. This is partnering with God on an entirely new level. Christ Has No Hands But Ours Christ Has No Body Christ has no body but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which he looks Compassion on this world, Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good, Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, Yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world. Christ has no body now on earth but yours. – Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) We love Jesus by loving others. This is how we glorify God. This allows the world to experience Jesus, to taste and see the Lord is good. Christ in us, the hope of glory. Pray this prayer: Jesus, open my eyes to see as You see! Let me see others as You see them. When we love, we move the heart of Jesus. Now imagine how Jesus sees compared to the seemingly “hopeless” or “impossible” circumstances through our natural eyes. With man it is impossible but with Jesus, nothing is impossible! Reposted with permission from M46 Ministries

For many years, I had no idea of how God really felt about me and didn’t know that a relationship with Jesus was even possible. Unhealed wounds in my heart made it difficult for me to receive the glorious truth of what it means to be a child of God. This massively affected my ability to father, to be loved and to love. We cannot give away what we do not have. As a father, I had to receive the truth of who our heavenly Father says I am — His son — in order to represent Him more fully on the earth to my own kids. Thankfully, my perfect heavenly Father is fathering my daughter too. I am not alone. His strength is made perfect in my weakness. Holy Spirit, we ask You to open our hearts and minds to receive the revelation that we are children of the Most High God, and our God is a good father. A love letter from God to you My Child, You may not know me, but I know everything about you. ( Psalm 139:1 ) I know when you sit down and when you rise up. ( Psalm 139:2 ) I am familiar with all your ways. ( Psalm 139:3 ) I know how many hairs you have on your head. ( Matthew 10:29-31 ) You were made in my image. ( Genesis 1:27 ) In me you live and move and have your being. ( Acts 17:28 ) You are my offspring. ( Acts 17:28 ) I knew you even before you were conceived. ( Jeremiah 1:4-5 ) I chose you when I planned creation. ( Ephesians 1:11-12 ) You were not a mistake. All your days are written in my book. ( Psalm 139:15-16 ) I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. ( Acts 17:26 ) You are fearfully and wonderfully made. ( Psalm 139:14 ) I knit you together in your mother’s womb. ( Psalm 139:13 ) And brought you forth on the day you were born. ( Psalm 71:6 ) I have been misrepresented by those who don’t know me. ( John 8:41-44 ) I am not distant and angry, but I am the complete expression of love. ( 1 John 4:16 ) And it is my desire to lavish my love on you, simply because you are my child and I am your Father. ( 1 John 3:1 ) I offer you more than your earthly father ever could. ( Matthew 7:11 ) For I am the perfect father. ( Matthew 5:48 ) Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand. ( James 1:17 ) I am your provider and I meet all your needs. ( Matthew 6:31-33 ) My plan for your future has always been filled with hope. ( Jeremiah 29:11 ) Because I love you with an everlasting love. ( Jeremiah 31:3 ) My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore. ( Psalm 139:17-18 ) And I rejoice over you with singing. ( Zephaniah 3:17 ) I will never stop doing good to you. ( Jeremiah 32:40 ) For you are my treasured possession. ( Exodus 19:5 ) I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul. ( Jeremiah 32:41 ) And I want to show you great and marvelous things. ( Jeremiah 33:3 ) If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me. ( Deuteronomy 4:29 ) Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart. ( Psalm 37:4 ) For it is I who gave you those desires. ( Philippians 2:13 ) I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine. ( Ephesians 3:20 ) For I am your greatest encourager. ( 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 ) I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. ( 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 ) When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you. ( Psalm 34:18 ) As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. ( Isaiah 40:11 ) One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. ( Revelation 21:3-4 ) And I’ll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. ( Revelation 21:3-4 ) I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus, for in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. ( John 17:26 ) He is the exact representation of my being. ( Hebrews 1:3 ) He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you. ( Romans 8:31 ) And to tell you that I am not counting your sins. ( 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 ) Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. ( 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 ) His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you. ( 1 John 4:10 ) I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love. ( Romans 8:31-32 ) If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me. ( 1 John 2:23 ) And nothing will ever separate you from my love again. ( Romans 8:38-39 ) Come home and I’ll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen. ( Luke 15:7 ) I have always been Father, and will always be Father. ( Ephesians 3:14-15 ) My question is … Will you be my child? ( John 1:12-13 ) I am waiting for you. ( Luke 15:11-32 ) Almighty God Reposted with permission from M46 Ministries

If you look at the families and parents and children who make up today’s culture, it’s not hard to see how the enemy has attempted to destroy what God intended for good. Single parents, estranged children, rampant divorce, abandonment, and dysfunctional people filled with bitterness and resentment only begin to describe the effects of fatherlessness on our world. God’s Design for Family God designed the world to reflect His kingdom and nature. God’s plan for the earth is for fatherhood. Though man doesn’t always get it right, He does. God is our perfect, loving Father who created us to be His sons and daughters. By our sin, we step out of relationship with God, but it is Jesus who made the way back to our loving Father! Through Jesus, God forgives. Through Jesus, He becomes our righteousness. Through Jesus, we receive the spirit of adoption and once again, become children of God. By His blood we become a part of God’s family! Transformed by His Love When we are adopted into God’s family, our Heavenly Father lovingly begins to instill our new identity as His beloved children into our hearts. If you have seen Jesus, you have seen the Father. What does it look like to be a child of God? Jesus modeled perfect sonship for us as He only did what He saw the Father doing. Therefore, we get to experience the Father and His love through faith and growing in relationship with Jesus. Jesus is our salvation. Jesus is our source of life. Jesus is our peace. Jesus is our love. Jesus is our joy. As we are continually conformed into the image of Jesus, His life and light flood us. When this happens, we can’t help but be transformed. We act differently, talk differently, and love the way the Father loves. As sons of God who are fathers, it’s our job to introduce our children to their heavenly Father and to father them the way He fathers us. Even in our brokenness, we learn to lean on Jesus as our source, progressively becoming more like Him. We get to lead by example to our families and others, and as fathers, we get to transfer the character of God and the purposes of God onto our natural and spiritual children. We have the privilege of continually reminding and declaring who they are as sons and daughters of the King. Called to Fatherhood Our heavenly Father is perfect and will never make a mistake. As earthly fathers, we will make many mistakes, but God can redeem and turn them around for good. In my life, everything began to change when I finally repented and yielded my life to God. At the age of 46, I made Jesus Lord of my life after a lifetime of dabbling in Christianity and living in compromise. This started a process of God’s redemptive power being released in me. He turned my heart to Him and to my children. He then began to turn my daughter’s heart toward me as I began to value and love her. I started following Jesus not out of religious obligation but as a response to His love and friendship. As I began to experience God as Father in an entirely new way, which allowed me to father in an entirely new way. I know my mistakes and failures as a father don’t limit God. I only need to turn to God and give Him my yes, which I do daily. Blessing the Generations Part of my journey as a father included a divine connection with Neil Campbell from Family Foundations. The ministry offers regular “Blessing Generations” online courses or live seminars where you can learn more about the power of blessing and how to activate it in your family. In the seminar, Family Foundations founder Craig Hill regularly teaches about the seven critical times in life that God intends for us to receive blessing in order to establish identity and destiny in our lives and the lives of our children. The seven sessions teach on the critical times of blessing and which question of identity each one answers. These blessings include: 1. Blessing at Conception Am I welcome in the world? 2. Blessing at Pregnancy Is there a safe place for me in the world? 3. Blessing at Birth Will my needs be met in the world? 4. Blessing at Early Childhood Who can I trust in the world? 5. Blessing at Puberty Do I have what it takes? 6. Blessing at Adulthood What am I called to do in this world? 7. Blessing in Senior years Am I still needed in this world? The blessing is a superpower designed by God to destroy the curse and restore the Father’s blessing in children’s lives, empowering them to prosper. These times should be special and ceremonial, looking into the eyes of your child. However, blessing isn’t designated only to these seven instances. We can regularly speak blessing over our children with words of life! The blessing of fathers and mothers over their children is key to them reaching their destinies. While this blog is about fathers, I want to take a moment to highlight that mothers are essential in the formation, care and nurturing of children, especially in the early years. A mother’s blessings are important throughout the life of their children and paramount on the first three critical times of blessing. You could call blessings 1, 2 and 3 “the mother’s blessing.” When a child reaches the age of accountability, around the age of 12 or 13, a transition occurs and the mother releases the child to mature into adulthood. As the child steps into his new role as a man or woman, it is the time for the father (or a loving male role model) to teach, train and bless. It is a divine team, with mothers and fathers working together to set their children up for all God has for them. You’ll notice in the seventh blessing that there comes a time when the tables turn, and children have the honor and privilege of blessing their parents (I will post an example in a future blog). When we get older, we can look forward to receiving blessings from our children, making them intergenerational. For now, I will share a sample blessing prayer for blessing a daughter at adulthood (the sixth blessing). As we agree and speak the words of our heavenly Father over our children, we must be aware that we represent the Father here on earth. This is our privilege! A Father’s Blessing into Adulthood: For a Daughter My daughter, I see you as a grown woman. I bless you as a beloved daughter and mighty woman of God. I believe in you! I declare my love and acceptance over you. You are valuable and made with great purpose for such a time as this. You are one of a kind, unique and special. I bless you as a woman of integrity, a woman of profound character. I bless you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to proclaim the gospel. I declare that you are connected to the covenant of our Lord Jesus Christ and the covenant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and that you will prosper in all your ways. God will give you an incredible husband and many children. Your marriage will be blessed, your children will be blessed, and your children’s children to a thousand generations. Your health is blessed. Your soul and body are blessed. Your relationships are blessed. Your finances are blessed. Your destiny is blessed. I bless you to be a blessing to others. You are above and not beneath. You are the head and not the tail. You are a blessed woman of God! You are the Lord’s beloved with whom He is well pleased. From this day forward, may God’s hand of goodness rest on your life. May your heart surrender fully to the Lord as He leads you in all your ways. May you experience His love, forgiveness, power, and provision in every area of your life. May you walk in the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ. May the fire of God burn in your heart all the days of your life. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord shine His face upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn His face towards you and give you peace. A Father’s Blessing into Adulthood: For a Son My son, I see you as a grown man. I bless you as a beloved son and mighty man of God. I believe in you! I declare my love and acceptance over you. You are valuable and made with great purpose for such a time as this. You are one of a kind, unique and special. I bless you as a man of integrity, a man of profound character. I bless you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to proclaim the gospel. I declare that you are connected to the covenant of our Lord Jesus Christ and the covenant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and that you will prosper in all your ways. God will give you an incredible wife and many children. Your marriage will be blessed, your children will be blessed, and your children’s children to a thousand generations. Your health is blessed. Your soul and body are blessed. Your relationships are blessed. Your finances are blessed. Your destiny is blessed. I bless you to be a blessing to others. You are above and not beneath. You are the head and not the tail. You are a blessed man of God! You are the Lord’s beloved and with whom He is well pleased. From this day forward, may God’s hand of goodness rest on your life. May you experience His love, forgiveness, power, and provision in every area of your life. May you walk in the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord shine His face upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn His face towards you and give you peace. I recorded blessings for a son of God and daughter of God for you to receive and/or use. Many of you, as adults, may not have had blessings prayed over you as children, so just close your eyes and receive it, and also play it or pray it for the son(s) and daughter(s) in your life. Reposted with permission from M46 Ministries

The Bible is a testament to the goodness of God and declares over and over how vast His love is for His children. Jesus won the victory over sin and death, and He reigns supreme. As sons and daughters, we get to appropriate His victory into every area of our lives and follow the ancient paths laid out in Scripture. By claiming Jesus as Lord and Savior, we choose to stand in faith and agree with the Word of God, speaking words of life. One of these ancient paths is the father’s blessing, a powerful Jewish custom that too few Christians practice today (yes, the Old Testament is very relevant to believers!). In fact, every Friday night, Jewish fathers prayed a father’s blessing over their children. This would be a worthwhile practice to incorporate into our families today! The Father’s blessing is the conventional transfer of the favor of God for the future, the passing on of divine favor. Declaring Words of Life and Truth “I call heaven and earth to witness that I have set before you a choice. Life or death. The blessing or the curse. So choose life. You and your descendants.” – Deut. 30:19 I am often asked to share a father’s blessing, which imparts children with their God-given identity (who I am) and destiny (why am I here). Just last night I had a dream that someone asked me to share a father’s blessing, which inspired the writing of this blog. Of course, there is much Scripture to declare over our children. It is powerful to speak and declare the words of Psalm 139, the blessings in Deuteronomy 28:1-14, and dig into the treasure chest of scriptures filled with identity and hope found in Jeremiah 29:11, Ephesians 2:10, Ephesians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Psalm 91, 93, etc. When I write a father’s blessing, I begin by spending time with the Lord. It’s important that I disconnect from the busyness of the world and thank God for Bryn’s life, turn my heart toward God and Bryn, and receive the immense value and love our heavenly Father has for her. I then pray over my daughter, Bryn, holding her in my heart or looking at a picture of her in the quiet and stillness of the Lord’s presence. In that moment, I ask the Lord to release His goodness and mercy over her. The Holy Spirit moves on my heart and together we write words of life and truth based on the Word of God. Sowing Seeds As Bryn often says, I can be intense sometimes, and some of my early blessings were far too long and she was not in a place to receive the words I spoke over her. However, I am confident that seeds were still planted in that season. Keep in mind, I didn’t start blessing my girls in this way when they were young, though I wish I had. Bryn was 18 and in a massive crisis when I learned the power of a father’s blessing from Family Foundations International . Had I started when Bryn was younger, she may have been more open to receiving it when she was older. In time, and through a powerful process of healing our relationship due to my own shortcomings as a father, Bryn’s heart slowly began to receive the words I poured over her. I never received any sort of blessing from my own father. I had never even heard of it prior to learning about it as a born-again Christian with grown children. Regardless, my heavenly Father is redeeming my past hurts, trauma, and orphan spirit, bringing divine order, blessing, and hope to my family. The blessing destroys the curse! By speaking blessing over our children and declaring God’s truth in their lives, it empowers them to prosper in Spirit and truth. The blessing destroys the curse. Each time we bless our children, their hearts soften and become more open to receive the truth. (Though, as in my experience with Bryn, it may take time.) It is important to separate identity from behavior. We must continue to call out the truth of their identity regardless of their behavior. We are representing the Father and call out what He says about them. Never Too Far Gone God is Father to the fatherless. Regardless of how our earthly fathers may have failed us, God can redeem all things. There is no parent, child, or family too far gone! The more I see God as my Father, as I progress in the revelation of sonship, the more I can be a father to Bryn in the ways of my heavenly father. This process of transformation is possible through the Holy Spirit (see also: Luke 1:17, the spirit of Elijah; the spirit of power and prophecy). As I have moved in the father’s blessing over Bryn and others, the Lord has connected me with fathers in the faith who have spoken blessing over me. The more I pray for and bless Bryn, the more my time, focus, and attention to her increases and my prayer life grows. And as I progress as a natural father to Bryn, I began to move as a spiritual father to others and become more of a father, leader, and disciple-maker in the organizations I steward.  Reposted with permission from M46 Ministries

As parents, we must fight for our children, and prayer is essential for protection and enforcing victory against the enemy’s schemes. When a mother and father come to agreement in prayer (and in unity within the marriage), the authority they have in the Spirit to war over their family is unmatched. Even as a single father, joined together in prayer with the saints, I have seen God perform miracles in my daughter, Bryn’s, life. Though Bryn has been rescued from the depths of darkness and knows intimately what it looks like to have a relationship with the Lord, there is still a war that rages on for her life. I pray almost as much for her now as I did before she became a Christian. The power of prayer is undeniable, and as Job 22:28 states, “You will also decide and decree a thing, and it will be established for you; And the light [of God’s favor] will shine upon your ways” (AMP). God’s Word will not return void (Isaiah 55:11) but will accomplish everything it is sent to do. As we declare God’s Word, we stand in faith, which is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) God loves our families more than we could ever imagine. He is perfectly faithful, infinitely good and more than able to complete what He starts. I often need to remind myself that God’s timing is not always my timing. God sees in whole, and I see in part. “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11) Early in my faith-journey, as I learned scriptures and began to pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, I leaned on many different books of prayer based on Scripture to pray for Bryn. One that I used often was a “Prayer for Family and Children” from a book called Decree by Patricia King. I share it with you today as it made a big impact on my heart and my family. Prayer for Family and Children As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord. Because I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, I shall be saved, and my entire house. Because I am a covenant child of God, my household is blessed. We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Blessings come upon us and overtake us. My family, home, marriage, and children are blessed, and all that I put my hands to do. I am blessed coming in and I am blessed going out. The Lord has established my household as a people for Himself. He causes us to abound in prosperity in the offspring of our bodies, in the offspring of our beasts, and in the produce of our ground. The Lord surrounds my family and entire household with favor as a shield. No good thing does He withhold from us. His banner is love over my home, marriage, and family. No weapon formed against us as a family prospers. What the Lord has blessed, no man can curse. We abide in the shadow of the Almighty and no evil befalls us. My children shall be mighty on the earth, for the generation of the upright are blessed. They shall be as signs and wonders in the earth. My children will flourish like olive plants around my table. They are a gift from the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is my reward. My children are like arrows in the hand of a warrior. My sons in their youth are as grownup plants and my daughters as corner pillars fashioned as for a palace. Lord, Your covenant with me declares that Your Spirit which is upon me and Your Words which You have put in my mouth shall not depart from my mouth, nor from the mouths of my children, nor from the mouths of my children’s children. All my children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be their peace and prosperity. In righteousness they will be established and they will be far from oppression. They will not be led into temptation but they will know deliverance from evil. I confess that my children are pure in heart and therefore they shall see God. They hunger and thirst after righteousness, therefore they are filled. The Spirit of the Lord is poured out upon my children and they prophesy. The Lord’s blessing is upon them. They will spring up among the grass like poplars by streams of water. One will say, I am the Lord’s, and another one will call on the name of Jacob; and another will write on their hand, “Belonging to the Lord.” I confess that my children are seekers of wisdom and understanding. They hold fast to Your Word and to Your ways. They treasure Your commandments and they cry for discernment. The spirit of wisdom is poured out upon my children and my children’s children, and words of wisdom are being made known to them. The Lord keeps my family from falling and presents them blameless before the presence of the Father’s glory with exceeding joy. Scriptural References Joshua 24:15; Acts 2:17; 16:31; Matthew 5:6, 8; 6:13; Ephesians 1:3; Deuteronomy 28:1-12; Psalm 5:12; 84:11; 91:1, 10; 112:2; 127:3-4; 128:3; 144:12; Song of Solomon 2:4; Isaiah 8:18; 44:3-5; 54:13-14, 17; 59:21; Proverbs 1:23; 2:2-3; Jude 24 King, Patricia. Decree – Third Edition. Decree a Thing and it Shall Be Established – Job 22:8. XP Publishing. Kindle Edition. Reposted with permission from M46 Ministries